Dein ist mein ganzes herz (1929)

“Dein ist mein ganzes Herz” (“You Are My Heart’s Delight”) is an aria from the 1929 operetta The Land of Smiles (Das Land des Lächelns) with music by composer Franz Lehár and words by Fritz Löhner-Beda and Ludwig Herzer (de). It was for many years associated with the tenor Richard Tauber for whom it was written. The aria is sung by the character of Prince Sou-Chong in act 2.

You are my heart’s delight,
And where you are, I long to be
You make my darkness bright,
When like a star you shine on me
Shine, then, my whole life through
Your life divine bids me hope anew
That dreams of mine may at last come true
And I shall hear you whisper,
“I love you.”

In dreams when night is falling
I seem to hear you calling
For you have cast a net around me
And ‘neath a magic spell hath bound me
Yours, yours alone
A wondrous air is your beautiful hair
Bright as a summer sky
is the night in your eyes
Soft as a sparkling star
is the warmth of my love.

You are my heart’s delight,
And where you are, I long to be
You make my darkness bright,
When like a star you shine on me
Shine, then, my whole life through
Your life divine bids me hope anew
That dreams of mine may at last come true
And I shall hear you whisper,
“I love you.”

The Land of Smiles (Das Land des Lächelns) is a romantic operetta in three acts by Franz Lehár. The operetta is set in Vienna and China in 1912. In Act I, in Vienna, the heroine Lisa, a Countess, marries a Chinese prince and returns with him to his homeland despite the warnings of her friends and family. In Act II, in Beijing, she finds that she is unable to come to terms with his culture, and especially that he must take other wives. He assures her that it’s just a formality, but unhappiness is inevitable, and she is locked in the palace. Her love changes to hate. In Act III, Prince Sou-Chong is left alone, while his beloved Lisa returns to her homeland. His sister, Princess Mi had also become attached to the Viennese official Gustav, and so the ending is doubly sad. But the prince respects the rule of his custom: always smile.

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